Mini Cheat Sheet for Apps on Your Surface

The Start screen on your Surface serves up a smorgasbord of apps, each built to handle a specific task. But no matter how much the apps differ, every app shares the same basic commands. These tips work in every app, whether they came bundled with your Surface, or you downloaded them from the Windows Store:

Open an app. From the Start screen, tap the app’s tile with a finger. (You can return to the Start screen with a press of your Surface’s Windows key.)

Close an app. Apps needn’t be closed. But if you really want to close your currently viewed app, slide your finger all the way down the Surface’s screen, from the top edge to bottom edge.

Change an app’s settings. After opening the app, fetch the Charms bar by sliding your finger inward from the screen’s right edge. Then tap the Charms bar’s Settings icon to see every setting your app allows to be changed.

See currently running apps. Slide your finger in slightly from the screen’s left edge and then back to the left edge. A strip appears along the left edge, displaying thumbnails of your currently running apps. To return to an app, tap its thumbnail.